Advice on Choice of Boat & Motor

[Tiny Jim]

Hi Guys,
I am buying a "new" second hand boat & the choice of boat & motor combination is endless, so I was wondering if you have any advice on the make of hull, in order of reliability, & the same with the motor.
What I would like is a 5mtr+ aluminium boat with a 4 stroke motor ( but I don't know if the 4 strokes are a better & more economical motor that require a lot more servicing than the 2 stroke).
What is the difference between a plate boat & a normal aluminium boat & is there any difference in the thickness of the aluminium between makes of hulls & is there ant particular hull or motor that I should be steering clear of?
Thanks

[Dan5]

Mate you really need to set a budget and then do some home work on the boats that fit your criteria.Four strokes are often more expensive to service but are in general cheaper to run.Plate boat's are usually custom made to meet your personal needs and usually are made from thicker material's.Work out what type of fishing you intend to do then set your sight's on something that will suit your style,every one want's an alrounder but it's usually a comprimise.Keep putting your question's up and we'll try answer them Good luck Dan........

[Tiny Jim]

Thanks for your advice Dan, but what I wanted to know is there different quality between the makes.
I would imagine that Quintrex is the best, but does say, Stacer have the same quality & thickness of aluminium as the Quintrex or is there a better make or are all reasonably modern boats of a similar standard?
I was hoping with the motor if some guys with 4 strokes & 2 strokes would share their experiences with them ( good or bad).
I live near Port Stephens so I think that with this new marine park I am going to have to go a few kilometers out to sea to fish so I wanted some idea of what would be considered a reasonable hull, size, motor configuration for this type of use.
I may be optimistic but I am working on a $25,000 limit.
As you can probably tell be experience with outside boats is limited & in the past I have learned that the best way to learn about a subject is to ask questions, no matter how simple or basic other people may think they are.
Once again thanks.

[Dan5]

Quintrex and stacer are owned and made by the same company" telewater" so the quality and thickness of material is the same.And you would be imagining it if you thought quintrex was the best.If you are looking at offshore maybe you had better start considering a glass hull,i've only ever had ally but that suit's my style of fishing inshore/estuary and long distance towing over unsealed road's.Sure the plate boat's like fisher/amm/gs marine etc will do offshore but won't ride like a good glassy.As far as engine's go well thats open for debate personally i've had four stroke's for nearly 10 year's and recently bought another so i will be bias in my opinion's i've also had two stroke's and have been in the modern DI's and would never go back ever.For a prodution type ally maybe look at trailcraft,bluefin,stessl, tabs,mako craft (which were stessl) they are all abit more solidly built not a true platey but not a true pressed hull either.$25000 will get you in the market for sure for a good second handy just do some research on whatever you find and get it checked out by a mechanic for sure.Dan....